to bring into a compact form by bending and laying parts together (often followed by up): to fold up a map; to fold one's legs under oneself.
to bring (the arms, hands, etc.) together in an intertwined or crossed manner; clasp; cross: He folded his arms on his chest.
to bend or wind (usually followed by about, round, etc.): to fold one's arms about a person's neck.
to bring (the wings) close to the body, as a bird on alighting.
to enclose; wrap; envelop: to fold something in paper.
to embrace or clasp; enfold: to fold someone in one's arms.
Cards. to place (one's cards) facedown so as to withdraw from the play.
Informal. to bring to an end; close up: The owner decided to fold the business and retire.
verb (used without object)
to be folded or be capable of folding: The doors fold back.
Cards. to place one's cards facedown so as to withdraw from the play.
Informal. to fail in business; be forced to close: The newspaper folded after 76 years.
Informal. to yield or give in: Dad folded and said we could go after all.
noun
a part that is folded; pleat; layer: folds of cloth.
a crease made by folding: He cut the paper along the fold.
a hollow made by folding: to carry something in the fold of one's dress.
a hollow place in undulating ground: a fold of the mountains.
Geology. a portion of strata that is folded or bent, as an anticline or syncline, or that connects two horizontal or parallel portions of strata of different levels (as a monocline).
Journalism.
the line formed along the horizontal center of a standard-sized newspaper when it is folded after printing.
a rough-and-ready dividing line, especially on the front page and other principal pages, between stories of primary and lesser importance.
a coil of a serpent, string, etc.
the act of folding or doubling over.
Anatomy. a margin or ridge formed by the folding of a membrane or other flat body part; plica.
Verb Phrases
fold in,Cooking. to mix in or add (an ingredient) by gently turning one part over another: Fold in the egg whites.
fold up,Informal.
to break down; collapse: He folded up when the prosecutor discredited his story.
to fail, especially to go out of business.
Origin of fold
1
before 900; (v.) Middle English folden, falden,Old English faldan; cognate with G. falten; (v.) Middle English fald, derivative of the n.; akin to Latin plicāre to fold, plectere to plait, twine, Greek plékein;cf. -fold
OTHER WORDS FROM fold
fold·a·ble,adjective
Definition for fold (2 of 3)
fold2
[ fohld ]
/ foʊld /
noun
an enclosure for sheep or, occasionally, other domestic animals.
the sheep kept within it.
a flock of sheep.
a church.
the members of a church; congregation: He preached to the fold.
a group sharing common beliefs, values, etc.: He rejoined the fold after his youthful escapade.
verb (used with object)
to confine (sheep or other domestic animals) in a fold.
Origin of fold
2
before 900; Middle English fold, fald,Old English fald, falod; akin to Old Saxon faled pen, enclosure, Middle Low German vālt pen, enclosure, manure heap, Middle Dutch vaelt, vaelde
Definition for fold (3 of 3)
-fold
a native English suffix meaning “of so many parts,” or denoting multiplication by the number indicated by the stem or word to which the suffix is attached: twofold; manifold.
Origin of -fold
Middle English; Old English -fald, -feald, cognate with Old Frisian, Old Saxon -fald,German -falt,Old Norse -faldr,Gothic -falths, all representing the Germanic base of fold1; akin to Greek -ploos, -plous (see haplo-, diplo-), Latin -plus (see simple, double, etc.), -plex-plex
A bend in a layer of rock or in another planar feature such as foliation or the cleavage of a mineral. Folds occur as the result of deformation, usually associated with plate-tectonic forces.